Coldest Night of the Year

Emily and I with our friends Mike and Laura before the Toronto 2013 walk.

Canadian readers may have heard of the Coldest Night of the Year initiative. In cities all over the country, people walk on a cold night as a way to raise money for and empathize with those who do not have a choice about being outside on cold nights. This year features walks in 80 different cities and a total goal of $3 million.

I walked two years ago in Toronto where the money went to a great and well-known organization in Yonge Street Mission. They do a lot of amazing things in Toronto, particularly closer to downtown. To what degree we empathized is debatable since “the coldest night of the year” was actually a pretty comfortable walk, close to the 0*C freezing mark. But we still raised a pile of money to help those who are out there on much colder nights.

This year, my wife and I will be walking in Kitchener with the local charity being Ray of Hope. They offer a similar range of valuable resources for those in need in downtown Kitchener. One of their most well-known areas of work is with youth addiction, but they also offer services in the categories of community support, youth justice, and youth employment. You can learn more about them from http://www.rayofhope.net/

Get Involved

If you’re Canadian and are able to walk with us, visit https://coldestnightoftheyear.org/home for more information including the many cities hosting walks and how to sign up.

If you’d like to support me, you can do so at https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/FundraisingPage.aspx?registrationID=2694907&langPref=en-CA

If you’d like to support Emily, you can do so at https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/FundraisingPage.aspx?registrationID=2714295&langPref=en-CA#&panel1-5

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Ryan Robinson

It is easiest to identify Ryan as both theologian and tech guy. By day, Ryan is a Technical Consultant work with PeaceWorks Technology Solutions. There, he works on websites, CRMs, and SharePoint implementations.
Along with blogging here, Ryan is a founding member of the MennoNerds blogging network and a contributor to the book A Living Alternative.